Lighting the Spark - Review of "The Hunger Games"

SPOILER WARNING for "The Hunger Games" movie. Read at your own risk.  This is your ONE and ONLY warning!

I've made it no secret that I am eternally impressed by "The Hunger Games" book series by Suzanne Collins.  In fact, all of the dystopian fiction I've consumed since reading this trilogy has been held up against the story of Katniss Everdeen and her rise from poor, starving girl from the backwoods of District 12 to inadvertently inciting a rebellion against the Capitol of Panem.  When news came that this series would be made into a movie, my only hope was "Please don't screw it up, Please don't screw it up."  And I am happy to report that they did NOT screw it up.

From the trailer, this movie looks like any flashy, showy, big-time summer blockbuster (even though it was released at the beginning of spring - eh, nit-pickiness there).  Vivid effects, awesome background music, intense voice-overs - the whole enchilada (oh, and that little issue of playing up the love-triangle that every young adult novel MUST have that is truly only secondary in this story).  But the movie opens up with stark white lettering on a black background that briefly describes the point of Panem's Hunger Games.  Then, they cut to a seemingly innocuous interview of Seneca Crane (head Gamemaker) conducted by Caesar Flickerman (oh, Caesar Flickerman - how you amuse me so).  That part's flashy and self-important - all the smugness that the Capitol has to offer and prides itself on.

And then - cut to the absolutely bloodcurdling scream of a young girl.

District 12 - Katniss Everdeen comforts her little sister, Prim, who is about to endure her first Reaping - where her name is entered for the first time as part of the selection of the Tributes for the Hunger Games.  No music, no effects, no flash - just a terrified twelve-year-old girl waking from a nightmare and being reassured by her older sister.  That is where "The Hunger Games" works so well - in the emotional, gut-wrenching punch of the premise.  And they go for it right from the start.

I'm not going to give a play-by-play account of the movie, but that opening scene struck me very hard.  Maybe it's because I have younger sisters and a niece now, but the entire sequence in the lead-up to the actual Reaping was something I won't soon forget.  It was so simple in the storytelling - just showing the humble people of District 12 trying to get by with what they have, with a special focus on Katniss and Prim.  It makes the moment when Effie Trinket draws Prim's name out of the Reaping bowl so much more. Because we love Prim and we know that Katniss loves Prim and we see how much Prim depends on Katniss for physical needs and emotional support and this is not going to be an easy movie to sit through.

Keep in mind - almost no background music in about the first twenty minutes of this movie.  It doesn't need it. At all.

I want to say a few things about the casting of this movie.  First of all - whoever got Donald Sutherland to play President Snow needs a bonus.  In the books, President Snow is the creepiest, freakiest guy ever (and with all the creepy, freaky stuff in the Capitol, that is saying something) and Sutherland plays him to the hilt.  There is a little bit of an attempt at being the kindly grandfather of the Capitol, relishing the festivities surrounding the Games, but underneath that exterior is something cold and menacing - especially toward anyone who mucks about with the Games.  You know how Alan Rickman totally owned the role of Professor Snape? Donald Sutherland does the same thing for President Snow.

I also enjoyed the addition of the scenes between Snow and Seneca Crane where Snow berates Crane for certain things that happen in the Games (mostly things that Katniss does  out of sheer human decency).  Those things didn't happen in the books because the books are 100% told from Katniss' POV, but the movie pulled them off well.

Speaking of additions to the movie - the scene where Haymitch is in the Capitol and sees a boy chasing a girl with a toy sword was wonderful.  Because there's a boy in the Hunger Games arena who has a real sword and uses it to cut down other Tributes (even gets Peeta with it at one point).  So many things in this movie hearken to a line in the book, after Katniss volunteers to take Prim's place.  Speaking of the people of District 12 - "They take the boldest form of dissent they can manage.  Silence. Which says we do not agree. We do not condone.  All of this is wrong." (The Hunger Games, chapter 2, page 21, Nook version).  The Districts may have to take part in the Games, but they don't have to like it.  Many of them wish for another way.

Oh yeah - I was talking about casting.  Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss was absolutely fantastic.  Of course, Katniss carries the story (being as it is her POV most of the time) and Lawrence is certainly able to do that.  She comforts Prim, she stands up to her mother, she mourns Rue (I'll come to that in a minute), and she is certainly a strong person.  I've seen her described as a strong female character, which is true, but I don't see the need to denote her gender in this case.  If Katniss was a male character, but with similar experiences and personality, I don't think the story would be one bit different.  One of my favorite parts was during Katniss' interview - this whole time Katniss is shown as a strong, capable young woman.  She's good with a bow and arrow and she doesn't take anyone's crap if she doesn't want to.  But she has some little slip-up in the interview where she doesn't hear what Caesar Flickerman asks her and she goes "What?" and the Capitol audience laughs.  I loved how that showed that Katniss was still nervous and scared and very unsure of herself, in spite of all the skills she has.  That is a realistic character - male or female.

The rest of the cast was good as well, though I was a little miffed that Gale got so little screentime, yet he was one of the top-billed characters in the marketing (again, lame love-triangle - got to put butts in the seats, I guess).  Good grief, Rue got more screentime and was a much more memorable character.  Granted, Gale will probably have more to do in "Catching Fire," so I can't get too upset.  Though, I'm not entirely sure about Peeta yet.  Although, this may have more to do with the fact that, at this point in the books, Katniss isn't sure about him either (and by extension, neither is the reader).  I did think the cave scenes were done very well, though.

I was going to talk about Rue and her death (yeah, the cute little girl who climbs trees and whistles to mockingjays dies. Sorry).  That scene - holy cow, THAT SCENE. If you haven't seen the fan-created film of this scene, go watch it now and come back. I'll wait (yes, yes - Rue in the YouTube video is white when she should be black. Let's all whine, carp and complain about a fan-made clip).  While I was seeing the scene in the movie, I did have that video in my head and, truly, I started to cry.  Like, actually shaking and sobbing in the movie theater.  I knew it was coming, but it still kicked me in the face.  And the fact that there was no music in the movie version almost made it worse.  Because, let's face it, real life doesn't have a grandiose soundtrack.  This was really like watching someone in the real world mourn the death of another person (and Katniss' near-hysterical breakdown a few scenes later did nothing to stop me crying).  I also loved that they showed District 11 in riots after Rue's death and Katniss' reaction because it helps to set up what's coming in "Catching Fire."  Even though in the book, District 11 thanks Katniss for honoring Rue by sending her bread into the arena and that's one of my favorite scenes from the book, this is a change for the movie that I am okay with.

Few more things:
- It's a good thing I went to a matinee showing and there weren't a whole lot of people in the theater.  Because I screamed a rather loud swearword when the muttations came leaping out of the forest at Katniss and Peeta.  Then again, I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one.
- I've seen a few articles about how parents aren't sure about taking their young children to see this movie and how it's too violent.  Well, if you're going to take your seven-year-old, what kind of freaky weirdo are you?  Seriously, it's got a PG-13 rating for a reason.  The books themselves are marketed to teenagers, for crying out loud! That being said, the violence was portrayed in a way that I found to be very tasteful, given the circumstances.  Anytime characters get into a fight and die, the movement is so fast that you don't see it.  It's like one big blur and then it's over.  You do see the Tribute lying dead on the ground and there is quite a bit of blood, but it's not gratuitous (this isn't Braveheart, folks).
- With all the viral marketing and what-have-you, something very vital is missing - why isn't anyone selling mockingjay pins?  I have combed the stores and the internet and all I can find are half-assed homemade things  on Etsy that really aren't worth it.  I don't want a pink wig or a skin dye job like those nutty Capitol people - I just want a freaking little pin!

Bottom Line: Books and movies are two different mediums.  What works in one will not do so well in the other.  "The Hunger Games" movie kept to the spirit of the book while still telling one of the most compelling stories for young adults I've read in a long time.  In fact, when I got home I started reading Catching Fire and I actually saw the actors in the movie in the scenes from the book.  I seriously cannot wait to see how the next one turns out.

Bottom-Bottom Line: Book-to-Movie Adaptation: You're Doing It Right.

The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me - Review of "The Muppets"

When I was little - this is before I even went to kindergarten - my family was dirt poor. To be fair, I was born a little over a year after my parents got married so they were still in that "poor, young, dumb, newlywed" stage of life.  As a result, we didn't have the shiniest, bestest toys.  But one thing we did have was an old dial TV (a hand-me-down from my grandparents) with a VCR my parents got from their wedding.  We didn't buy a lot of movies and this was way before we even thought about cable.  But we did have blank VHS tapes.  So, Mom and Dad taped movies from TV for my sister and I to watch after "Sesame Street" and "Mister Roger's Neighborhood" was over and all there was to watch was crappy soap operas and Mom wanted to clean the house.

We had many things recorded on those tapes - anything shown on Magical World of Disney counted, as well as innumerable Mickey Mouse and Goofy short cartoons (I have a picture of my three-year-old self zonked out on my dad's easy chair because I insisted on watching Goofy cartoons before bedtime and I didn't make it through the whole tape).  There was "The Chipmunk Adventure" and "Pete's Dragon" - and there was "The Muppet Movie."

I certainly didn't understand anything about time periods or how things got "dated" over time.  For all I knew, "The Muppet Movie" was brand spanking new in 1988.  I didn't really recognize the celebrity cameos and I truly didn't care.  I just wanted to watch Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo and Miss Piggy (okay, I admit that I did care about the Big Bird cameo).

So here I am in 2011 - legally I'm a grown-up (though I will deny that I have any kind of boring, grown-up qualities in my personality).  I understand that "The Muppet Show" was sort of a big deal back in the day, but I didn't experience it (weep silently for me).  But I did get to experience "Muppets Tonight" on TGIF in the late 90s.  And I maintain that the very best version of A Christmas Carol is "The Muppet Christmas Carol."

The point of all this sentimentality? I love it when something from my childhood gets to come back and be made new and relevant again.  I went into "The Muppets" expecting a Muppet movie like "Muppets Take Manhattan" or "Muppets in Space" where the Muppets are just part of the scenery along with their human actors.  But "The Muppets" is actually about revisiting old times and realizing that they are still good and important and deserve to be passed down in our culture.  It's like finding that one book or that one toy that you loved as a kid, but you haven't used it in years.  Not because you were deliberately neglectful, but just because life gets in the way (see also - "Toy Story 3").  Thank goodness for the creators of "The Muppets" for reminding the rest of us who loved the Muppets as kids that we still love the Muppets, even though we're older now.

And kudos for staying faithful to the spirit of the material!  There's a scene in "The Muppets" where Kermit and the gang go to ask Mr. Richman if they can just have the old studio back.  Richman has this little song-and-dance number that basically plays to idea that the world is cynical and the goofy Muppets stuff just doesn't cut it anymore.  Then he unveils the Moopets, which is basically the Muppets if Jim Henson was from the south side of LA.  This reminded me of the "edgy-fication" of certain well-beloved characters.  It works with some (like Batman) but for others (like the Looney Tunes) eh... not so much.  There are just some things that you don't do that with.  The original formula works fora  reason - because it resonates.  People want to have the good and silly stuff that's just - fun.  Everything isn't all doom and gloom and gritty realism.  There's still a place for absolute silliness.


"The Muppets" stuck with the old formula and it works like a charm.  Even lampshading that they're gathering up the old gang in a montage and driving to Paris by way of a map in the glove box - that's what the Muppets do and that's who they are.  I did get a little nervous when Fozzie pulled out the fart shoes (because the Muppets do NOT have to resort to bathroom humor) but Kermit and everyone told him to give it a rest and everyone kept it classy.  The addition of Walter was cute - I especially loved the song with him and his (human) brother Gary singing about being men and Muppets (and what about Jim Parsons as the human Walter? I nearly busted a gut when I saw that!)

And no, I did not get all weepy and crap when they all came out to sing "The Rainbow Connection" there at the end.  Nope, not at all *sniff* (aw hell... anyone got a tissue?)

Bottom Line: "The Muppets" is a fun and heartstring-tugging way to bring my childhood back into my adult life.  It has me hoping and wishing for a a rebirth of "The Muppet Show" because that was one thing I sort of missed out on, but I would love to have it back.

Seriously - who doesn't love the Muppets?

News from The Avengers

Mark Ruffalo is slated to be Edward Norton's replacement as the Incredible Hulk in "The Avengers" movie.

I know, a lot of you are thinking - Why in the name of all that is good and holy am I bringing this up?  I haven't see the Edward Norton version of "The Hulk" yet, though I've heard good things about it.  But I mention this for a couple of reasons -

1. In the last ten years, comic book movies have become awesome.  Helped along by movies like Spider-Man, X-Men, people like myself who weren't usually inclined to care about comic book stories now care.  I mean, I have enough on my plate with Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Fablehaven, Twilight, 24, CSI, Doctor Who, Star Wars - do you know how many story arcs comic books have? Do a Wikipedia for any of the X-Men and you'll see what I mean - how in the world do these people keep this stuff straight?  But a movie - ah, there I can follow and understand what is going on with these characters.  And they all have compelling stories - as good as anything I've read in literature or seen in other shows.  So, while I'm not a fully-fledged comic book nerd, I can appreciate and enjoy this stuff.  And I'm excited about a multi-superhero movie like "The Avengers."

2. I figured it'd be a long shot, but David Tennant's name was floating around there for a bit as being a potential choice for the Hulk/Bruce Banner.  As a fangirl nerd, that would have been made of so much win - especially considering that Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man/Tony Stark (oh jeez - I just drooled a little on my blog...)  And if they made the Hulk CGI, David could have just played Bruce Banner (whose kind of a skinny, nerdy guy anyway) and voiced the Hulk.  But whatever - you can't miss what you never had (though the Doctor Who crossover parodies from this guy would have been gold).  sigh... I guess I'll just wait a little longer for David Tennant to make his way onto a major Hollywood movie that I would go see.

3. I really don't have a third reason, but it'd look better if I just rounded out the list.  But yay Comic-Con! (not that I ever have any inclination to go... but hey, it might be fun sometime... maybe...)

Dancing Out a Samba!

By a miracle (or simply because Mom was bored and needed someone to go with), I wound up seeing "Toy Story 3" tonight.  Before I continue, my sisters noted on Facebook about my "Eclipse" review, so I know at some point they'll be reading this *waves*



(Two movies this summer I really liked - "Iron Man 2" and "Toy Story 3" - all in one video!  I love this guy ^_^)

That's about all the Spanish I know.

Proving once again that good things come to those who wait - this was an awesome movie.  And not just because it made me a little bleary eyed at the end (just got some popcorn dust in my eye or something...)

Actually, I got to thinking about when I first saw "Toy Story" - it was the Christmas I got my "American Girl" Kirsten doll (which I still have).  AND - I used to have one of those rolly-eyeball-phone deals.  Ah, the memories.

I knew Andy wouldn't chuck his toys out like that!  But giving them to Bonnie - aw... so cute!  And the toys all got one last playtime with him and it was just wonderful.

Ken's Fashion Show = FTW!  Barbie explaining what's it's like to govern with the consent of the governed = FTW plus two!  Just - Barbie and Ken - that was funny.

Other things I liked:
- Playing roulette with the Farm Sounds "record" thing.
- The escape plan and how it all worked out.
- Spanish!Buzz (and all the little interactions with Jessie - tee hee ^_^)
- Chuckles.  There was entirely too little of him.
- Lotso getting wired to the front of the garbage truck.
- ahem ... WOODY IS ALWAYS RIGHT, people! (I'm lookin' at you Potato Head)
- Oh - and there was Tortilla Head - and Zucchini Head.  And Mrs. I-Lost-One-Eye-But-Can-Spy-On-Andy's-Progress Head.
- "Border Crossing - Outlaws Welcome."  Not that I'm making any connections or anything... but you know.
- The whole opening sequence was fantastic.  I'm going to sound like a total geek, but that who bit actually sounded like it could be a "Doctor Who" plot.  I wonder if Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat and the gang ever made up crazy stories with their toys as kids (Evil Doctor Pork Chop and Death By Monkeys - Ha-HA!)

Things I didn't like:
- This had nothing to do with the movie, but the lady behind us kept saying things like "Oh my gosh - it's the incinerator!"  Like, really loud.  Like she and her husband were at home watching the movie.  And they didn't even have kids they were entertaining.  Oh, and she kept remarking on how many people worked on the "Day and Night" short as those credits were rolling.  Um, yeah, lady.  These movies take a lot of people to work on - have you seen the credits for a feature-length movie lately?  And her husband kept grumbling "yeah, they probably all got paid too."  Good grief - can you just enjoy the freaking movie without making inane comments??

Okay, I'm done with the griping part.

I was glad that they had the little bit during the roll-credits of Andy's toys fitting in with Bonnie's - that was fun.  I almost expected Rex to be Dixie's "Velociraptor-whatever-whatever-number," but it was great all the same (I'm with Hamm - I think they should do "Hamlet" ^_^)

Personally, I don't know where the Pixar peeps get their ideas, but it's wonderful.  Even during "Day and Night," I was in awe.  I mean, who comes up with this stuff?  It's amazing!  I want to write for these guys - seriously.

ETA: Okay, so goofy me got the subject line wrong, but I don't like to change my blog titles.  So, to make up for it, here's the clip from "Doctor Who" that it came from:



(just a "little" bit foxy? Mm-hmm ^_^)


Coming attractions - Mom is a huge Secretariat fan (not horse racing in general, just Secretariat - I should ask her why, now that I think about it), so it's certain we'll be seeing that movie.  While that trailer was going, she seemed pretty excited, which I'm happy for her.

"Tangled"... has potential, but I'll reserve judgment for when I see it.

Citizen Movie Critic - "Eclipse"

I have a new tag for these movie reviews - came to me in a coming-attraction-preview vision.  During the "Deathly Hallows" trailer, no less.

"Eclipse" Review. There are spoilers, but I really don't know why I bother with the warning (if you're the type that cares about spoilers for this movie, you'd have read the book about fifty times by now).

But first, here's a Strong Bad video - you'll see why.




The evening began okay - a violent death in the streets of Seattle.  But then Kristen Stewart's trying-to-be-dramatic-goth-emo-dark voiceover reciting Robert Frost in a frolicky meadow killed my "Yay! Action!" buzz (I'm even more distressed because that's my favorite Frost poem - "Road Less Traveled" gets waaaay too much airtime)

We now know where all the wolf-boys' t-shirts ended up - in Renee's graduation present for Bella!  (However, I was slightly bummed that Edward echoed my thoughts wondering if the wolf-boys even owned shirts. I thought I was being clever. Guess not...)

By the way, Alice can see the future, Edward can read people's minds and it's graduation for everyone.  Just in case you were wondering.

The whole time during Billy's "Third Wife" story, he kept calling the vampires "Cold Ones" and I couldn't help but hum the Strong Badia National Anthem.

Did anyone notice that the sunlight seemed to shine on the vampires a lot more - but minus the wind-chimy-sparkly-ness?  Or did they just put more light on them and pretend it was clouds?

This movie was just one big List of Awkward - the highlights:
- The Imprinting conversation
- Any romance scene - no one in these movies knows how to be cutely romantic.  Well, other than Alice and Jasper... but I'll get to that in a minute.
- Edward's "pained" expression (he just looks like he's about to throw up).
- Jessica's graduation speech, still trying to create suspense over who Bella will choose.  Come on, we all know how this is going to end.  If Bella chose Jacob, the books wouldn't be black and red, now would they?  They'd be a Native American wolf motif.
- The Brokeback tent scene having Edward and Jacob work out their feelings for... Bella.
- The bedroom scene.  Honestly, Ed - if you're all so big on the protecting Bella's virtue, why do you have a king-sized bed with low-lighting and soft music when you two are alone?  I don't buy it.  (that actually was a good time to go get a refill on Junior Mints, though)

And from the "This is Just Plain Weird" category:
- When Bella asked Jacob to kiss her, there was a girl a few rows ahead of me that literally covered her eyes (before the movie started, I noticed she was wearing a "Team Edward" shirt).
- "I'm Switzerland!"  Um, sure honey - whatever you say ("The hiiiiiiiills are aliiiiiiiiive!!!!")
- Bella mad that Jacob hasn't called (when life and limb is at stake)
- Cracking vampire flesh (What part of "skin like marble" doesn't anyone understand?  Similes people!!!)

Although, there were a few things I liked -
- Charlie's attempts to have "The Talk" with Bella.  Actually, anything with Charlie.  That guy's good for a laugh.  I was disappointed that we didn't have a "Telling Charlie We're Engaged" scene because that would have been worth the price of admission)
- Chasing Victoria - any kind of action, really.  At least there was some.
- The Battle.  But there was way too little of it.
- The newborns did that "Pirates of the Carribean" underwater-undead march thing.  Not too bad.
- The Volturi guy's line - "It appears we missed an entertaining fight." Thus reflecting the sentiments of every non-Twihard person watching this movie.

This is something I've never understood about vampire novels - if you're a vampire, you're undead with loads of time on your hands.  Yet, there are two things that are almost universal in these stories: 1. They are always out for blood (I get that - it's a part of their life and they have to feed).  2. Their next favorite hobby is sex.  Why?  I mean, you have unlimited time on your hands, why in the world are you so preoccupied with doing the nasty?  I will say this for the Cullens - at least they make an effort to continue what's good about human life (education, family, accomplishment)

On the whole, it was a so-so movie.  I have to say this for myself - I don't necessarily hate "Twilight" (I actually enjoyed the first book... and then it just got progressively weirder).  I think the fans really ruined it for me, though.  Too many teeny-boppers and middle-aged moms that wish they were still teeny-boppers (I don't know which is worse).  What gets me is that it started out as a clean(ish) love story and that's really hard to find nowadays, but then the weirdos all got their hands on it and... yeah... I think Stephenie Meyer tried to please all her fans and that's just not going to happen. If she'd had it all mapped out beforehand and not tried to prolong the inevitable, it would have been a different story.  But what can you do?

I also decided this - I like romances, but I think I like them better if the love story is secondary to a bigger plot.  Think of Harry Potter - the main crux of the story is Harry against Voldemort.  Everything else - including the romance - takes a backseat to the bigger storyline.  That's what makes the few romantic scenes so fun -  they're the added spice to the meal, not the entire meal itself.  I mean, what good are the mushy scenes if you're just one continual ball of gooey mush?  You have to get the adrenaline kicked in at some point to balance out.